fall sports preview - 2010

2 TUESDAY, AUGUST 31, 2010 AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

BY ROCKY [email protected]

The Packer football team will have a newlook this season as they will see a highturnover from last year’s roster, as well as anew coach at the helm.Austin is no longer running the spread

offense, as first year head coach Matt Schmithas decided to run more plays under center.Austin, which was 4-6 last season, will look

to run a mix of power running plays,misdirection and play-action passing.It figures that Austin would change its

offense as the team graduated running backJerrad Ryks, who was a huge part of theoffense the past two seasons.“The plan is to have a number of people

run the ball on any given play. We’ll go bycommittee and you can’t replace a great guylike (Ryks). They don’t come around everyyear,” Schmit said. “We changed everythingand the kids know everything now. We’re justfine-tuning and we know what direction we’regoing. They know the plays, formation andterminology.”Jay Ettinger, a senior wide receiver, said

the offense is coming along so far and someof the younger players are picking it up. He’slooking forward to seeing how Austin’s speedshows up in the new offense.“We don’t have a lot of size, but we’ve got

good athletes and I think it’s a good offensefor the team we have,” he said. “We’ve heard alot of people put the team down a little bitand say we’re not going to do as good thisyear. We’re trying to prove people wrong andget some wins. We want to get momentumearly and look to improve from last year.”Schmit said he’s still waiting to decide on a

quarterback, and he may switch quarterbacksin the middle of the game, depending on thesituation.He’ll also look to take advantage of his

team speed.“We have some guys that don’t time real

well but when they get out there, they’reelusive and hard to get ahold of,” Schmit said.“That’ll be our style.”

One thing that is for sure is thatthe Packers will no longer use playersexclusively on offense or defense.Certain players will play on both sidesof the ball.“If they can play they’re going both

ways. We’ll be conditioned,” Schmitsaid.

While the offense has seen somedrastic changes, the Packer defensewill look about the same. AndrewWangen will anchor the middlelinebacker spot, while Leon Delgado,Thomas Herrera and Caleb Wahlenwill fill up front.Wangen has been pleased with the

secondary play of Andrew Allen andCole Adams so far.“We’re looking pretty good and

we’re stuffing the run and thesecondary’s stepping up,” he said.“We’re pretty excited about that. Ithink we’ll do pretty good this year ifwe work hard and play like a team.”

AUSTIN FOOTBALLSept. 3 Austin at Red Wing, 7 p.m.Sept. 10 John Marshall at Austin, 7 p..m

Sept. 17 Austin at Century, 7 p.m.Sept. 24 Mankato East at Austin, 7 p.m.Oct. 1 Mankato West at Austin, 7 p.m.

Oct. 8 Austin at Faribault, 7 p.m.Oct. 15 Winona at Austin, 7 p.m.Oct. 20 Austin at Albert Lea, 7 p.m.

Eric Johnson/[email protected] Peil goes up for a pass in front of Quinn Yocom during practice at Wescott Athletic Complex. Yocom was able to knock the passaway.

Packers will see some changes

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VOLLEYBALLAug. 31 Farmington at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 2 Owatonna at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 9 Austin at Century, 7 p.m.Sept. 11 Austin at Mankato Invite, 10a.m.Sept. 13 Blooming Prairie at Austin, 7p.m.Sept. 16 Faribault at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 21 Austin at Southland, 7:30

p.m.Sept. 23 Austin at Winona, 7 p.m.Sept. 25 Austin at John Marshall Invite,9 a.m.Sept. 27 Austin at Hayfield, 7:30 p.m.Sept. 30 John Marshall at Austin, 7p.m.Oct. 7 Austin at Mayo, 7 p.m.Oct. 12 Mankato East at Austin, 7 p.m.Oct. 14 Austin at Mankato West, p.m.Oct. 19 Albert Lea at Austin, 7 p.m.

Eric Johnson/pho-todesk@austindai-

lyherald.comThe Austin volley-ball team returnsboth settersfrom last yearwhich includesJenna Svoboda.


The Packers are counting on a biggroup of seniors and a someyounger contributors to help turnthings around on the volleyballcourt in 2010.Austin went 3-16 overall last

season, but an attitude adjustmentcould make a big difference thisyear.“When we had a very successful

team in the past we had reallycompetitive and aggressive girls whohated to lose,” Austin head coachDarica Schneider said. “We lost alittle bit of that spirit last year, andthis year I think we’ve got some ofthat back. It’ll be nice to have thatedge again.”Austin will return both of its

setters in Kayla Rodgers and JennaSvoboda, a sophomore. Svoboda isfeeling much more confident thisyear as opposed to last season whenshe came in as a freshman.“I’m sure it was very scary for her

last summer,” Schneider said. “She’sgrown a lot and she’s a triplesporter, so she’s coming in one yearsmarter and one year stronger.”Svoboda has also grown in

confidence.“I feel a lot better,” Svoboda said.

“When I came in last year, I was iffyabout everything and setter was newfor me. Now I know what to do and Iknow how my teammates play a lotbetter.”Austin’s front line will look a

little different this year as newcomerBabaye Oja will join seniors JennySoiney and Meredith Molhusen upfront.“Babaye’s got a great vertical and

a nice, hard snap to her swing,”Schneider said.Molhusen played as a reserve last

season and she may end up playingin the middle this year.“There’s a lot of competition for

the middle and the outside positionand that makes everyone worktwenty times harder,” Molhusensaid. “I think we’ll actually do a lotbetter, because we have nine seniorsand we’re all close together. I thinkthat will show on the court.”

Austin volleyball team looks for improvements

“ .”It’ll be nice tohave that edgeagain.

— Darica SchneiderAustin volleyball head coach

Packers have a good attitude



Although the Austin boys soccer team graduated 14seniors from last year’s team that made it to the statetournament for the first time in school history, the squad isnot lowering its expectations.With a JV team that lost just two matches in the last two

seasons, the Packers are looking to remain a strongpresence.“Rebuilding is not even part of the vocabulary because

we have the talent,” Austin head coach Jens Levisen said.“We need to keep an eye on how we play together as a team,if that’s a struggle, then the season’s a struggle. Butexpectations are high, a handful of these guys would’vestarted on any Big Nine team last year. I feel prettyconfident in that statement with at least four or five ofthem.”The Packers will look different across the field and the

team still hasn’t chosen its new goal keeper yet. But thebiggest change may be the type of players Austin has on thefield.“It’s a completely different team,” senior defender Tony

Lipari said. “We’re a lot smaller and we’re more agile andquick. We’re not as physical, and we may get pushedaround a bit, but I think we’ll have a good season.”Dante Ortiz, a forward, said the Packers can make up for

their lack of size by running an smooth offense.“We’ve been playing for a couple years back and we

know how to communicate and be at the right place at theright time,” he said.While Levisen is high on the team’s talent — he’s quick

to point out that the Packers must be willing to run apatient offense. In the past, long balls have gotten Austin introuble.“We’ll see what type of team they are,” Levisen said.

“Are they a team that plays possession or a team that justkicks the ball long and hopes? The mentality we’ve beenbuilding as that we play as a team and that passingmentality has to happen.”Senior forward Rolando Rubio is ready to get the ball

rolling for the Packers, who were 14-6 overall last season.“I’m really looking forward to this year, I’d like to help

the team get to state again,” he said. “We’ll try our best toget even farther than last year’s team and make schoolhistory.”Senior defender Aaron Mehus knows that teams will be

gunning for the Packers, but he’s hoping for a solid season.“We just want to live up to last year’s hype,” he said.

“We’ve got some big shoes to fill, but our JV has been goodthat last few years and that’s about our varsity team thisyear.”

Packers look to maintain high goals in boys soccer

Eric Johnson/[email protected]'s Tony Lipari and Aaron Mehus, right, go through drills during practice. The two are part of a solid core of returnersfrom last year's state tournament team.

AUSTIN BOYS SOCCERAug. 28 Como Park at Austin, 1p.m.Aug. 31 Austin at Owatonna, 7 p.m.Sept. 2 Austin at Red Wing, 5 p.m.Sept. 7 Century at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 9 Austin at Caledonia, 7 p.m.Sept. 13 Austin at Faribault, 5 p.m.

Sept. 16 Albert Lea at Austin, 7p.m.Sept. 18 Austin at Lourdes, 1 p.m.Sept. 23 Austin at John Marshall, 7p.m.Sept. 25 Kasson/Mantorville ataustin, 1 p.m.Sept. 28 Mayo at Austin, 7 p.m.

Sept. 30 Mankato East at Austin, 7p.m.Oct. 2 Austin at Winona, noonOct. 4 Schaeffer Academy atAustin, 5 p.m.Oct. 5 Mankato West at Austin, 7p.m.Oct. 7 Austin at Albert Lea, 7 p.m.



The Austin girls soccer team ishoping to turn things around thisseason.After going 1-14 last year, the Packers

have come in with a solid attitude.“The attitude has been really great so

far. We have two new coaches andthey’ve had a lot of energy,” Austin headcoach Josh Dumas said. “They’re alwaysa positive team, but they’ve had reallyhigh spirits this year.”

Junior Abby Gallaher will patrol thenet for the Packers, sophomore NicoleLipari will lead the front line attack,while sophomore Carley Grunewald andsenior Annamarie Hernandez will coverthe midfield.Hernandez is hoping the squad can

show some improvements.“It’s really different (as a senior)

because you realize this is your lastchance to make it what you want to be,”she said. “This year we have a lot morepotential than last year, but it’s just howwe execute it during games. I think we

Packer girls soccer team is looking for turnaround

AUSTIN GIRLS SOCCERAug. 26 Austin at Fairmont, 4:30 p.m.Aug. 28 Austin at Worthington, 12:45p.m.Aug. 31 Owatonna at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 3 Winona at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 7 Austin at Century, 7 p.m.Sept. 11 Fairmont at Austin, 1 p.m.Sept. 13 Fairbault at Austin, 7 p.m.

Sept. 16 Austin at Albert Lea, 7 p.m.Sept. 20 Worthington at Austin, 5 p.m.Sept. 21 Waseca at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 23 John Marshall at Austin, 7 p.m.Sept. 25 Austin at Faribault, 3 p.m.Sept. 28 Austin at Mayo, 7 p.m.Sept. 30 Austin at Mankato East, 5 p.m.Oct. 2 Spectrum/PACT at Austin, 1 p.m.Oct. 5 Austin at Mankato West, 5 p.m.Oct. 7 Albert Lea at Austin, 7 p.m.

EricJohnson/photodesk@austindaily-

herald.com

Austin sophomore Nicole Lipariworks through drills during prac-tice. Lipari is one of the return-ers for the Packers girls soccerteam this season.

can execute positively.”Hernandez said the team’s main

issue will be controlling possession.Dumas is confident in Gallaher in

the net and he said the team shouldn’thave to shuffle players around fromposition to position as much as it didlast season.“Abby’s really starting to come into

her own and she’s stopping a lot ofballs,” Dumas said. “We tried a lot of

stuff last year and we putpeople in different positions.We’ll probably have to dothat a little bit of that thisyear, but we definitely have

some girls who are good at theirposition and we can build aroundthem.”Austin mixed up its schedule by

adding Worthington and a couple ofother opponents they can compete with.“We’ve got some new teams on our

schedule that should be goodcompetition for us, where we can playwith them and have really have somefun,” Dumas said.

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ADAMS — The Rebels are tired oflosing the big game.In 2009, they lost to eventual state

champ Caledonia to put their season toan end and in 2010 they lost to eventualstate champWaterville/Ellysian/Morristown to endtheir season.“We want to win big games this year

and stay mentally focused,” Southlandcenter and defensive tackle TrevorEmanuel said. The Rebels went 8-2 last season and

they return most of the play-makersfrom that squad, but they will have to filla couple of holes up front as CaseyCederstrom and David Schotanus bothgraduated and will be playing football atRochester Technical and CommunityCollege this fall.“They were good, but we’ve got guys

than can fill their shoes. Our line shouldbe just fine this year,” Southlandoffensive and defensive tackle TylerBergene said.Rebels head coach Shawn Kennedy is

feeling good about how his team showed

up this season. He said the knowledge ofthe system is at a high and the teamshould be deep enough to platoon onboth lines.“(Platooning has) helped keep us

fresh in the fourth quarter in the pastand hopefully that continues for us,”Kenndey said. “We’ve been so muchfurther ahead (in knowing the system)this year than in years past. It’s beenphenomenal how hard these kids haveworked so far.”Offensively, the Rebels return

quarterback Sam Noterman, who threwfor 1,298 yards, 12 touchdowns and oneinterception last season, and Alan May,who had 687 receiving yards with 12scores.At running back, Southland will look

to Ben Wolterman to run for power,while Tyler Kressin and Mike Goergenwill take care of the outside runs.“Tyler is very shifty, Mike gives us

good speed and Ben can run up themiddle,” Kennedy said. “We can bephyscial between the tackles, we’ve gotspeed to the outside, we’ve got kids thatcan catch and we’ve got a quarterbackthat can throw. We’re balanced.”

Rebels hope to take the next step to success

While the Rebels’ offense is in good hands,their defense shouldn’t miss a beat either.“We’re young in the secondary, but we

should be quick and fast,” Emanuel said.“We’re a lot faster than last year’s team, weshould be as good if not better.”Bergene and Emanuel both said they’d like

to get to state and go to the Metrodome thisseason, but Kennedy is keeping his eyes onthe near future.“In this conference every Friday night you

have a tough opponent,” Kennedy said. “Our

objective is to go out and play the best possiblefootball we can play without mistakes andstay physical. If we do that, we’ll have achance to be in every game in the fourthquarter.”Bergene is hoping the Rebels will have

some leads in those fourth quarters.“There’s good teams all around us, no

doubt. But we feel we can compete withthem,” he said. “We’ve been working just ashard as everybody else and we all put ourpads on the same way.”

RockyHulne/sports@austin

dailyherald.com

Southland’s AlanMay, left, breaksup a pass during adefensive drill atpractice in Adamsrecently.


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At a glance, the AwesomeBlossoms football team looksvery similar to the one that went11-2 and advanced all the way tothe Class ‘A’ state semifinals lastseason.Quarterback Luc Zellmer,

who threw for 2,256 yards and 34touchdowns with 11interceptions last season is onhand, Cooper Nelson, who had821 receiving yards and 15 scoreslast season, is there and GabeKartes, a speedy game-breaker isback. But if you look a little closer,

the team is much different.Blooming Prairie graduated

its entire offensive line from lastseason and it’s looking for sixguys to take over that role —Josh Jirle, Blake Arett, JarrodGrunklee, Pat Jones and AlexFiebiger.“Any time you lose that many

seniors it’s going to take sometime to get some continuityback,” BP head coach ChadGimbel said. “The guys we haveare very capable and we have allthe confidence in the world inthem.”Zellmer, a junior, has no

complaints about his newprotectors so far.“They’re working really hard

and you can tell they’ve learned

FOOTBALLSept. 3 New Richland H/E/G atBlooming Prairie, 7 p.m.Sept. 10 Blooming Prairie at Randolph,7 p.m.Sept. 17 Blooming Prairie at Waseca, 7p.m.Sept. 24 LeCenter at Blooming Prairie,7 p.m.Oct. 1 Blooming Prairie at MankatoLoyola, 7 p.m.Oct. 8 Medford at Blooming Prairie, 7p.m.OCt. 16 Blooming Prairie at FaribaultB.A., 7 p.m.Oct. 20 Saint Clair at Blooming Prairie,7 p.m.

a lot,” he said. “We should be all right thisyear. We should be good.”Zellmer had a breakout sophomore

season and now that he has a strong graspon the offense, he’s looking to fine-tune hisgame.“It’s a lot easier now,” Zellmer said. “I’m

working on my technique; getting rid of theball quicker and hitting receivers in theright spot.”The Blossoms have played in the Section

1A title game the last three seasons andthere’s not a lot of reasons to think theywon’t be in the hunt again this year. Under

Gimbel, BP has always at least done aswell as it did the previous season.“We’re looking to compete and get

back to where we were last year,”Gimbel said. “That’s what we expect.”Nelson, a three-year starter at wide

receiver and defensive end, said he’shoping to get back to the dome.“After getting to the dome once, you

want to get back there,” he said. “Ifeveryone works hard and we do whatwe’re capable of, we’ll get back there.We’ve always had really good teamshere and I want to make sure I get themost out of my senior year.”BP is mixing things up a little on

defense. The team will give opponents afew different alignments to offer themsomething to think about.“We run a lot of defenses to get the

other teams off-balanced,” Nelson said.“If they’re scouting us they’ll see werun four different defenses and thatwill make them work that muchharder.”

Rocky Hulne/[email protected] Prairie quarterback Luc Zellmer throws under pressure at a recent practice in BP. Zellmer, ajunior, returns at quarterback for the Awesome Blossoms.

Awesome Blossoms are looking to get back to the dome


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The Awesome Blossoms volleyball willhave to concentrate on passing andserving if they want to have a successfulin season in 2010.Blooming Prairie graduated four

seniors from last year’s squad that went12-17 overall, but it brings back a few keyreturnees as well.“We lost a lot of strong serving and

passing,” BP head coach GinaMcLaughlin said. “Those who knowvolleyball know that these are two skillsthat are crucial to the game. Ourreturnees will definitely need to work tofill those pertinent skills.”BP will look to seniors Rachel

Klemmensen and Marissa Noble to patrolthe back row. Noble will take over the

setting duties.“Rachel will be dominant in the back

row. Her passing is much improved andher service is solid,” McLaughlin said.“Marissa is working very hard to ensurethat our team doesn't miss a beat as wetransition from one setter to another.Marissa is also very smart and has astrong desire to do well.” Senior hitter Whitney Burt, who was

All-Gopher Conference last season,should lead the Blossoms front lineattack, along with seniors Kristin Hagenand Yasmine Smith, and sophomoreJanelle Morem.“Whitney is a terminator on the

outside. Her challenge will be to learn toserve more consistently and become astronger team leader,” McLaughlin said.“Kristin is a disciplined blocker whom we

hope will hassle our opponents andYasmine has some attractive raw abilitythat if we are able to harness, we will seea lot of positive play out of her.”Morem’s best strength is her ball

control and defensive play.Senior Allyson Grunklee will also chip

as a hitter, and she brings good blocking.McLaughlin hopes her team can finish

near the top half of the GopherConference this season and get deep intothe tournament after making it to thesubsection title game last season.“How well we do this year depends on

our team chemistry and our ability topick up the serving and passing,”McLaughlin said. “We have hitters, butwe need to ensure that we have acontrolled court and can get them theball.”


ADAMS — The Southlandvolleyball team is hoping torebound.A year after going 10-13 overall

and finishing last in the ThreeRivers Conference, the Rebels arehoping to move into the middle ofthe conference standings thisyear.“I see a lot of potential and I

think we should be in the middleof the pack,” Southland headcoach Angie Smith said. “We’repretty tall this year and they’relooking strong. We needcommunication and they’ve got tolearn to play together.”The Rebels graduated six

regulars, but hitters JanaSchammel, Sarah Nelson andBrandi Schammel all return upfront.“I look for those three to lead

us,” Smith said.Southland will also get

contributions from HollyGoergen, Kelli Shawback, MaddiSchmitz, Lindsey Bottema, BrookeMeyer, Betsy Oswald, Kelly Grayand Hannah Hammilton.

Rebelshave potential

BP volleyball team must keep focus

GM volleyball team looks to growAUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The Grand Meadow volleyball teamwill look to a handful of returning var-sity players to lead the way this season.The Superlarks bring back four play-

ers from last year’s squad that went 18-12.Sophomore Autumn Thorsen was a

libero last season, but this year she’ll bethe team’s setter and sophomore Court-ney Olson will step up as a middle hitter.

“Courtney’s much better at defensethis year and she’ll be a big blockingforce,” GM head coach Michael Keefesaid. “Autumn plays very relaxed andshe’s a calming agent on the court.”The Larks also return two seniors in

Haley Hanken, an outside hitter, andCamile O’Connell, a back row defenderand server.“Haley is really improving and getting

stronger and Camile brings leadership

and a strong work ethic,” Keefe said.The Larks will also look to junior hit-

ter Stephanie Russell and defensive spe-cialist Amber Riedemann to chip in.Keefe is hoping his squad can compete

in the top half of the SEC this season.“We’re a young team, but we have a

strong will to get better every day,” hesaid.

L/O volleyball team looks to reloadAUSTIN DAILY HERALD

They graduated their core from lastyear’s 26-4 team, but the Cardinals arehoping to contend for an SEC volleyballtitle this season.The Cardinals will look to Chanda

Riedemann, Krista Bunne and KylieGrant to lead the way this year.

“We are a very quick team that isworking very hard a defense,” L/O headcoach Lisa Swenson said. “We don't havea lot of height but we will rely on beingquick on our feet. We are a young teambut we have a talented group of athletesthat work well together.”L/O graduated five players from last

year’s team but has four players back

with varsity experience.“Our first goal is to win the confer-

ence and to prove to everyone plus our-selves that we can be as good as we havebeen in the past,” Swenson said. “We areexcited for the season and hope to proveto everyone that with hard work you cancontinue to have a winning tradition.”


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Cardinals bring back eight from winless teamAUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The LeRoy/Ostrander football teamis hoping to bounce back from a winlesssesaon as they prepare for 2010.The Cardinals, who have seven var-

sity returnees after graduating eightplayers, have some decent size up front,but once again they’ll be hurting fordepth.“We have to work hard and put our-

selves in good positions to be in games,”

L/O second year head coach AaronHungerholt said.Jordan Osmundson, Mark Miller and

Devin Losee will anchor the offensiveand defensive lines for L/O, while KirkNelson and John Marx will fill in it run-

ning back.On defense, Nelson will play defen-

sive back and Marx will play linebacker.The Cardinals have won just one

game in the last two years.

Superlarks football team looks to spread it out AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

Everybody knows about the GrandMeadow football team’s main weapon.GM quarterback Caleb Leichtnam,

who is now a senior, ran for 1,554 yardsand 21 touchdowns last season whileleading the Superlarks to the statetournament as they went 8-2 last season.But GM head coach Gary Sloan is

hoping that people start to notice hisother players — most notably runningbacks Perry Stejskal and DezmonJohnson.“We’re going to ride Caleb and he’ll get

the ball alot, but we can’t just be oneguy,” Sloan said. “We’ll spread it arounda bit.”Stejskal, a sophomore, was averaging

6.3 yards a carry before he was injuredlast season and Johnson, a junior, wasinjured the last two seasons.“Perry will be pretty solid and he’s a

very physical runner. He likes contact,”Sloan said. “Dezmon is a pretty goodplayer and he’s a good athlete.”Sloan said the Larks are in the mix for

another SEC-title, but he added thatSpring Grove, Mabel/Canton, Houstonand Lanesboro should all be tough aswell.“I don’t think anyone stands too high

above the other,” he said. “If I had to picka team to beat, it would be Lanesboro.They’re big and they come right at you.”On defense, Leichtnam, who had 89

tackles last year, should lead the way, aswell as Richard Bain, who had 92 tackleslast season.

Herald file photo

Grand Meadow quarterback Caleb Leichtnam keeps the ball on a run against Spring Grove.


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With five varsity runners lostto graduation, the Austin boyscross country team will have amuch different look to it thisyear.Austin graduated its top four

runners and will look to replacethem with a couple of returneesand some newcomers.“The guys that graduated will

be hard to replace, but these guyshave put in nice summer,” Austinhead coach Tony Einertson said.Nate Schwab, Gabe Deyo and

Joe Gerber all return with somevarsity experience and seniorBen Sherman is also looking tostep up this season.“I’m excited to get into the

season and help some of theyounger kids get going,” saidSherman, who ran on the JVteam last season. “There will besome nerves (for me) to get readyfor varsity races, but it’s going tobe cool. We’re looking forward toa strong season.”The Packers will see two new

additions in Zach Fadness andMax Gillen. Fadness was adistance runner on the trackteam and Gillen ran in some ofthe shorter races on the trackteam.“We’re really looking forward

to see what Zach can do,”Einertson said. “We feel Max isgoing to be good. He’s in fantasticcondition and he put in a greatsummer. He’s a little bit of asprinter, but we feel he’ll convertinto a good cross country runnerand he’ll be in the mix forvarsity.”Einertson said he hopes his

team can improve as the seasongoes along and he hopes thePackers compete for the middleof the section by the end of theyear.

Austin boys cross country team moves on with new runners

Eric Johnson/[email protected] Fadness joins the Austin cross country team this year, adding another set of strong legs.

AUSTIN BOYS CROSS COUNTRYAug. 31 Austin Invite, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 3 Austin at Rosemount, 9:25 a.m.Sept. 9 Austin at Hafyield, 4:30 p.m.

Sept. 16 Austin at Mayo, 4 p.m.Sept. 21 Austin at Lake City, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 28 Austin at Mankato West, 4:30 p.m.Oct. 7 Austin at Owatonna, 4:30 p.m.Oct. 12 Austin Inivte, 4:30 p.m.


• Engine Tune Up• Brake Service• Tires & Exhaust

Packer girls look to competeEric

Johnson/pho-todesk@austindai

lyherald.comAustin girls'cross countryrunner HaleySplinter will lookfor another shotat state thisseason.


With three veteran runners, a state qualifier and twostrong newcomers, the Packers girls cross countryteam is hoping for a solid season this fall.The team will feature Haley Splinter, a sophomore,

who made it to state last season and three seniors whohave ran since they were freshmen — Katelyn Harder,Kaitlynn Carroll, and Lauren Thompson.“It’s a good group of girls,” Austin head coach Tony

Einertson said. “Inthe past we’ve alwaysbeen ninth or tenth inthe Big Nine. If wefinish ninth or tenththis year, somebody’sbeen injured orsomething’s gonewrong. This teamshould be much morecompetitive.”In addition to its strong returnees, the squad adds

McKenzie Besel, a former swimmer who was a soliddistance runner on the track team, and seventh graderMadison Overby, who was unbeaten as a sixth graderon the middle school cross country team last season.“Our girls team has the prospects of being much,

much improved from where we’ve been in the past,”Einertson said. “We should have Haley being uptowards the front, McKenzie and Madison being top-30or top-40 runners and the other girls should be right inthere with their experience.”Splinter is hoping to get back to the state meet and

she’s also looking forward to running on a competitiveteam.“We’ve got some track girls who showed some really

good stuff during the spring,” she said. “It’s my goal topush myself to get to state again and it’s going to benice to have some (more) competitive runners on theteam. It’ll be a great season.”Einertson added that 17 girls are out for cross

country this season, which is a solid number for thesquad.

Austin should see bigimprovements

“ .”It’ll be a greatseason.

— Haley Splinter

Austin cross country runner


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AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The Hayfield football team islooking to a new coach as it hopes toimprove on last year’s 1-8 record.The Vikings will be led by Grant

Klennert, who has been a Hayfieldassistant the past three years.“I think defense wins games,”

Klennert said. “We are putting a lot ofemphasis on our defense beingaggressive and in the correct positionto make plays. Offensively, I amencouraging an balanced attack ofrun and pass.”The Vikings will look to Evan

Bungum to play quarterback and leadthe team on defense and Jake Siemersshould also have a big impact.“Evan is one of the better

quarterbacks in our conference and isan all-around leader,” Klennert said.“Jake is always leading by exampleand he brings a hard knock lunch pailapproach.”Hayfield has 16 seniors, eight of

which started last year, but its depth isa little low in some spots.Overall, the Vikings have 11

returning starters and Klennert ishoping for a strong season.“We want to be competitive. The

HVL is always a tough conference, oneof the best conferences year in andyear out in the state. We want tocompete each and every game allseason long,” he said. “We have onlywon two games in the last two years,but I feel that we are a programheaded in the right direction and thatwe are starting a process of continualbuilding that will lead to continualsuccess in the future.”

Hayfield getsnew footballcoach

HAYFIELD FOOTBALLSept. 3 Hayfield at Stewartville, 7 p.m.Sept. 10 Hayfield at Winona Cotter, 7p.m.Sept. 17 Goodhue at Hayfield, 7 p.m.Sept. 24 Byron at Hayfield, 6:30 p.m.Oct. 1 Hayfield at Zumbrota/Mazeppa,7 p.m.Oct. 8 Triton at Hayfield, 7 p.m.Oct. 15 Hayfield atKenyon/Wanamingo, 7 p.m.OCt. 20 Pine Island at Hayfield, 7 p.m.

Viking runners are coming strongAUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The Hayfield cross country teamdoesn’t have a lot of runners, but itdoes have some strong returners thisseason.The boys bring back two runners

with varsity experience and the girlswill bring back five with varsityexperience.The boys will be led by Mike Kuehn,

Chad Krueger, and Jon Fleishchmannwhile the girls will be led by MeteaVoyce, Lexi Anderson and Courntey

Severson.“I would like to see us finish in the to

half of the HVL Conference this year,”Hayfield head coach Len Oelkers said.“I could se the possibility of maybehaving three or four runners earn All-Conference Honors.”

HAYFIELD VOLLEYBALLSept. 7 Hayfield at Kenyon/Wanaminog,7:15 p.m.Sept. 9 Cannono Falls at Hayfield, 7:15p.m.Sept. 11 Hayfield Invite, 8:30 a.m.Sept. 13 Hayfield at Stewartville, 7:15 p.m.

Sept. 16 Lake City at Hayfield, 7:15 p.m.Sept. 21 Hayfield at Winona Cotter, 7 p.m.Sept. 23 La Crescent at Hayfield, 7 p.m.Sept. 27 Austin at Hayfield, 7:15 p.m.Sept. 28 Hayfield at Kasson/Mantorville,7:15 p.m.Sept. 30 Pine Island at Hayfield, 7:15 p.m.Oct. 2 Hayfield at Century Invite, 8 a.m.

Oct. 5 Hayfield at Lourdes, 7:15 p.m.Oct. 7 Byron at Hayfield, 7:30 p.m.Oct. 12 Hayfield at Zumbrota/Mazeppa,7:15 p.m.Oct. 14 Triton at Hayfield, 7:15 p.m.Oct. 19 Hayfield at Goohue, 7:15 p.m.Oct. 22 Hayfield at Century Invite, 5:15p.m.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The Hayfield volleyball team is comingoff a solid season, and with five returnerswith significant experience coming back,the Vikings hope to be in business again.Hayfield will be led by senior Molly

Streightiff, who’s entering her fifth yearas the starting setter, as they look to getback to the subsection title game, wherethey lost to Faribault BethlethemAcademy last year.“We can probably do as well or move

up one spot with in the conference,”Hayfield head coach Deb Harvey said.“Hopefully we’ll move up one spot, butour conference is tough and lots of crazystuff can happen.”Hayfield, which graduated five seniors

from last year’s 19-10 team, will look toLiz Ristau and Abby Blanchard to leadthe hitting while Alyssa Selk and JaideRyks should help out with the back rowdefense.The Vikings will also look for Emily

Blanchard, Nicole Jax, Dani Wagner,Katie Miner, McCayla Thoe, HannahWiltgen, Abbie Pollock and RachelCzaplewski to chip in.

Vikings bring back five volleyball playersHerald file photo

Hayfield's Liz Ristau,right, and Molly Streight-iff combine to blockBethleham Academy'sJessica Mathews duringgame two of their matchfor the Section 1A WestDivision title inRochester.


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The Austin girls swimming and divingteam is hoping for one last ride to state.The Packers return all five of their

state qualifiers from last season andthree of them — Averi Splinter, BrookeJohnson and Kelli Bednar — are seniors.“It’s going to be sad when we all have

to leave but it’s definitely going to be a re-ally good season,” said Johnson, whotook 13th in the backstroke and swam inthe 200-medley relay team that took 13that state last season. “We have highhopes.”Austin head coach Lynn Gulbrandson

said the Packers could do some even big-ger things this season than they did lastyear, when Splinter took sixth in the 100-yard butterfly at state and made the all-

state and All-Big Nine team.“My expectations are high, but there’s

are even higher,” Gulbrandson said.“They’ve set some very attainable andvery lofty goals for themselves. They re-ally expect to do some big things.”Johnson is hoping to break the school

backstroke record, she was six-tenthsaway from it last season, and Bednar ishoping her 200-medley relay team canbreak the school record as well.“We’re just looking to do good every

meet and hopefully we can get the 200-medley record. We were really close lastyear and we’d like to break it,” Bednarsaid. “It should be a good year for every-body.”Austin’s other returning state quali-

fiers are junior Lauren Edwards andsophomore Helen Heimark.

Austin swimmers are hoping for big things this year

AUSTIN SWIMMING ANDDIVINGSept. 2 Austin at Owatonna, 6 p.m.Sept. 9 Century at Austin, 6 p.m.Sept. 16 Austin at Faribault, 6 p.m.Sept. 18 Austin at Lakeville South, 1 p.m.Sept. 21 Northfield at Austin, 6 p.m.

Sept. 23 Winona at Austin, 6 p.m.Sept. 30 Austin at John Marshall, 6 p.m.Oct. 2 Austin Invite, 9:30 a.m.Oct. 7 Mayo at Austin, 6 p.m.Oct. 12 Austin at Mankato East, 6 p.m.Oct. 14 Austin at Albert Lea, 6 p.m.Oct. 19 Mankato West at Austin, 6 p.m.

Herald file photoAustin's Kelli Bednar nears the finish of the breast stroke in the 200 yard medley relay earlylast year against Owatonna. Bednar returns to the Packers swim team.

Pacelli tennis teambrings eight backAUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The Pacelli girls tennis team returnseight players with varsity experienceas it looks to build on last season.Pacelli didn’t graduate any players,

but it lost three foreign exchangestudents from last year’s team.“We would really like to have more

wins as a team than last year,” Pacellihead coach Mark Henderson said. “Wewon four matches as a team, but wehad three others that were very close.With all of our returning players weare hoping to improve on that.”Pacelli will look to Steph Kocer and

Lauren Rieker to lead the way, andLindsey Chapek and Abby Leif willchip in as well.“Steph is definitely our vocal leader

and Lauren is our leader on thecourt,” Henderson said.Pacelli will start the season with

just nine players, which means it willhave to forfeit the No. 4 singlesmatch unless someone else joins theteam.Lisa Tan and Mindy Nguyen are

returners from last year’s team andBetsy Ettinger is a new player.


LYLE/PACELLI FOOTBALLSept. 2 LeRoy/Ostrander at Lyle/Pacelliin Lyle, 7 p.m.Sept. 10 Glenville/Emmons atLyule/Pacelli in Lyle, 7 p.m.Sept. 17 Lyle/Pacelli at Grand Meadow, 7p.m.Sept. 24 Lyle/Paeclli at Spring Grove, 7

p.m.Oct. 1 Lanesboro at Lyle/Pacelli, 7 p.m.Oct. 8 Houston at Lyle/Pacelli in Austin,7 p.m.Oct. 15 Lyle/Pacelli at Mabel/Canton, 7p.m.Oct. 20 Lyle/Pacelli at LeRoy/Ostrander,7 p.m.

Athletics are short on numbers but they have some skillL/P will haveto avoid in-juries andkeep playerson the fieldBY ROCKY [email protected]

The Lyle/Pacelli footballteam is a little short onnumbers, but its hoping itsskill makes up thedifference this season.L/P, which was 1-8 last

season, has just 13 playersthat are sophomores orolder, despite graduatingjust a few players from lastyears squad.“We’ve just got to get

them in shape and hope forno injuries because theyknow they’re not going toleave the field,” L/P headcoach Mark Buntje said.“We’ve got some talent,we’re just low on numbers.We’ll make the best of it.”Carter Guthmiller, who

started four games atquarterback last season,will take the helm for theAthletics. The senior saidhe feels much bettercoming into this seasonthan last year.“I’ve been running this

offense since seventh grade,it shouldn’t be too new tome, just different folds,”Guthmiller said. “I thinklast year was kind of anawakening for me. Thevarsity game’s a lot fasterand you’ve got to make

Rocky Hulne/[email protected]/Pacelli running back Damien Haugen cuts through a hole in practice at Lyle recently. Haugen, a sophomore, should play a big role in the L/P offense.

reads and play 110 percent. I just wantto come out and compete this year. Idon’t want another one and eightseason.”L/P will look to Garrett Jenkins and

Damien Haugen to carry them in thebackfield. Haugen, a sophomore, made

big mark as a freshman.“We’re hoping Damien can step up as

a sophomore. He reads his blocks welland he’s pretty quick,” Buntje said.L/P also returns both of its tight

ends in Ryan Rust and Max Brennan.The Athletics will have to use their

speed on defense as they lack size.“We’re not real big, but we’ve got

some speed and quickness,” Buntje said.“We’re not going to line up in any bigpower matchups, but in nine man,quickness is almost just as important sowe’ll try to use that.”



The Austin girls tennis team is looking tofour seniors to lead the way as it prepares forthe 2010 season.Sophie Hebrink and Nina Carney will

compete to cover the top two singles spots andJordan Flaherty and Mary Kate Barinkashould also chip in.“I’m looking to those four girls to lead us

and they’ll all probably have the best seasons,”Austin head coach Tom Tauchnitz said.The Packers will also have an eighth grader

step up in the singles department as AliciaSforza will look to fill the No. 3 spot.“She’s improved tremendously and she’ll

probably play No. 3 singles for us. That’s goingto help out a lot,” Tauchnitz said.As a team, the Packers are hoping to finish

somewhere near the middle of the Big Nine asthey graduated a key few players from lastyear’s team.“The next few years will be rebuilding years

for us,” Tauchnitz said. “We’ve got some goodplayers and I think our singles are going to bedecent, we’re pretty solid there. Our doublesare going to probably be rebuilding, especiallyon the bottom.”

AUSTIN GIRLS TENNISAug. 31 Owatonna at Austin, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 2 Austin at Century, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 7 Faribault at Austin, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 9 Austin at Winona, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 14 John Marshall at Austin, 4 p.m.Sept. 16 Austin at Mayo, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 20 Waseca at Austin, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 21 Mankato East at Austin, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 23 Austin at Mankato West, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 27 New Prague at Austin, 4:30 p.m.Sept. 28 Albert Lea at Austin, 4:30 p.m.

Austin tennis team set to begin rebuilding processEric John-son/pho-

[email protected]

mSophie He-brink will bat-tle for the toptwo spots onthe Austintennis team.

AUSTIN DAILY HERALD

The Pacelli cross country team ishoping its nine total returners canlead the way this season.The girls team will bring back

ninth graders Annie Holtz andMadeline Kraemer and the boys willreturn Jonothan Koppa, StephenJuenger, John Ethan and DrewChapek.“I think Madeline will step up

this year,” Pacelli head coach JimParlin said. “She’s worked hard this

summer and she should be set for abig year.”Pacelli’s girls team is one runner

away from putting up team scores aseighth graders Katherine Ethan andSara Kahle round out the roster.The boys will also get some run-

ning from Isaac Koak.“We have some young runners

and we’re really looking for im-provement this year,” Parlin said.“Hopefully the girls can field a fullteam.”

Pacelli runners have experience L/P volleyball team gets a new coachAUSTIN DAILY HERALD

A year after going 2-21, the Lyle/Pacelli volleyballteam is looking to a new coach with some returningplayers to turn it around.Jaimie Zielke, who graduated from Owatonna and

coached the L/P ‘B’ team last year, is taking over forher first year at the helm.Some of L/P’s key players will be setter Ann

Rysavy, a freshman, and hitters Audrey Ferris, a sen-ior, Jennie Marx, a junior, Whitney Hinz, a junior, andAshley Hinz, a senior.The Athletics will also look to Paige Smith to chip

in.

L/P VOLLEYBALLAug. 31 Lanesboro at Lyle/Pacelli in Lyle,7:15 p.m.Sept. 7 Lyle/Pacelli at Glenville/Emmons,7:15 p.m.Sept. 9 LeRoy/Ostrander at Lyle/Pacelli inLyle, 7:15 p.m.Sept. 11 Lyle/Pacelli at Hayfield Invite, 8:30a.m.Sept. 13 Lyle/Pacelli at Houston, 7:15 p.m.Sept. 16 Lyle/Pacelli at Hope Lutheran,7:15 p.m.

fall sports preview - 2010

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